Show Preview: The War on Drugs, White Laces

[STONED AMERICANA] The bifurcation of the careers of Kurt Vile and Adam Granduciel could’ve gone a lot worse. Vile left the War On Drugs
in 2008, but pegging indie-rock’s benevolent stoner laureate as the
Jeff Tweedy to Granduciel’s Jay Farrar is an unfair assessment. With no
apparent animosity dividing two branches of the same classic-rock tree,
we’ll concede that no one gives a shit and move on to Lost in the Dream,
the War On Drugs’ latest outstanding release. Granduciel’s voice has
migrated away from the timbre of his buddy Vile toward the realm of ’80s
radio god territory: Close your eyes and, amid the shimmers of
chorus-heavy guitars and smoky organs, you’ll hear Don Henley on Ambien.
If played sequentially in a live scenario—doubtful, given the equal
amounts of acclaim heaped upon 2011’s Slave Ambient—the album is
an ecstatic experience tailor-made for both the dad-rocker and his
burnout kids. Stash the bong and double-knot your dancing shoes for “Red
Eyes,” the band’s finest effort yet in getting baked-out psych-dudes to
cut loose on the dance floor. Get lost in the haze—or the beer line—any
other time.